


all my standards are set to you

by Anonymous



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Childhood Friends, Drunk Kissing, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, High Society AU, Kissing, M/M, Marriage of Convenience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26077813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Dongho sighs but doesn’t lift his eyes from the menu. “Yah. I’m trying to order. Would you quit staring at me?” He thinks he’ll go with the steak.“What do you think of us getting married?” Minhyun suddenly blurts out.(a.k.a Somehow, Dongho got roped into a marriage of convenience, courtesy of his best friend with whom he may or may not already be in love with.)
Relationships: Hwang Minhyun/Kang Dongho | Baekho
Comments: 10
Kudos: 54
Collections: Nu'fics x The Parallel





	all my standards are set to you

**Author's Note:**

> homophobia doesnt exist in this au  
> thank you

The Hwang Group annual dinner has always been a sight to behold; golden curtains draped from the ceiling to the floor, giving the dark walls an unearthly glow to them; numerous crystal chandeliers glistening above them, refracting the light and making the floor seem like ocean waves; the dark tablecloths that cover the circular dinner tables intended for the guests are stopped with fine china and tall wine glasses, even the wooden seats are cushioned to a comfortable degree. Despite growing up rich himself, Dongho never really got used to the extravagance of the Hwang family.

Speaking of which, he doesn’t really know where his friend is at the moment but it’s okay, he’ll see him soon anyway.

“- As I was saying, Dongho- _ssi,_ ” the man he had just been introduced to (Seungcheol, was it?) says before he goes off on another tangent about boring conglomerate politics or whatever revenue his family made this month. Dongho fights the urge to yawn. He may be completely uninterested but he still has to save face and uphold his family’s dignity. That’s what it means to be a Kang.

“- And that’s why I think this would be a great match,” Seungcheol says, giving Dongho a tight lipped smile when he’s done. He looks like he’s forcing himself, honestly.

“Yes, of course!” Dongho replies enthusiastically, though he has no idea what the hell the man was just talking about, his eyes were too busy scanning the crowd. God, he wishes Minhyun would save him right now.

“So you agree?” his companion asks.

“To what?” Dongho takes a small sip of his wine. If he’s going to have boring conversations all night long, the least he could do is be drunk while having them.

“To our partnership.”

“Partnership?”

“Well, this is an informal invitation for now. I would imagine that it would start out as a partnership but I think marriage could also happen down the line.”

Dongho almost spits out his drink. “Excuse me?”

“What?” Seungcheol asks, confused.

“Marriage?” Dongho replies with another question, equally as confused.

“Well, we cannot rush it but I think the match is most favourable. You’re single, and I’m single. This is good.”

“Listen, we just met -”

“But you just said our families would be a good match if we were joined.” Seungcheol tilts his head, trying to decipher why the man he was speaking to has had a sudden change of heart.

“Seungcheol- _ssi,_ with all due respect, I wasn’t even lis-”

“Dongho!” A voice behind him calls and Dongho gets an instant flood of relief. He turns around to see that it’s the man of the hour that’s smiling at him. Normally, he would want to punch that stupid, shit-eating grin off his face but right now, Dongho is just grateful for a means to escape.

“Minhyun.” Dongho can’t help the smile stretching on his face as Minhyun reaches them.

“Minhyun- _ssi,_ ” Seungcheol says, giving Minhyun a curt nod. The spark in this man’s eyes from the earlier conversation is suddenly diminished at Minhyun’s arrival.

Minhyun nods to him too before turning to Dongho. “Baby, you came,” he says as he wraps an arm around Dongho’s waist.

He ends up having to fight the urge to roll his eyes too, but Minhyun is making everything so _difficult._ “Of course I came. You invited me, Minhyun.”

“Aww, you still can’t call me ’Minnie’ in public?” Minhyun laughs before resting his head on Dongho’s shoulder. If it weren’t for the fact that Dongho has long since been used to this, he would have socked Minhyun right then and there. The man’s grin grows wider when he looks up to see Dongho’s annoyed facial expression. And then, as if just realising the presence of the other man (despite greeting him only two minutes earlier), Minhyun’s expression quickly changes. He looks at the man condescendingly, like he can never get on the Hwang son’s level. Which is… true in Dongho’s opinion. No one can beat _The_ Hwang Minhyun in anything. “Who’s this?” Minhyun asks.

“Choi Seungcheol, Hwang Minhyun- _ssi,_ ” Seungcheol answers. Though he has a poker face, the irritation is clear in his voice. Dongho ends up rolling his eyes. Minhyun is really trying his best to piss people off tonight it seems.

“Ah. From the Choi Group?” Seungcheol nods. “Pardon me for my blunder, my memory got a little foggy. I’ve just been meeting _so_ many people tonight. You must have slipped from my mind.” Dongho watches how the grip Seungcheol has on his wine glass tightens to a degree that he’s almost positive that it will break in half any second now. 

“Anyway, what were you and my Dongho talking about?” Minhyun has that fucking grin on his face again. God, if Seungcheol doesn’t punch him then Dongho just might.

“Nothing. Now, if you will excuse me,” Seungcheol says before he turns around and stalks away.

Once Seungcheol is out of sight, Minhyun unlatches himself from Dongho, just as they have done so many times before. But Dongho would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the feeling of their bodies pressed together as soon as they broke apart. Not this again.

“Did you really have to be so mean?” Dongho says before taking another sip of the wine. “What if a rumour gets out about this? Wouldn’t your parents get mad at you again?”

“They can handle another baseless accusation. This is nothing, Dongho.” Well, he got him there. The Hwang Group is notorious for their lawsuits and always winning them. “Anyway, if it weren’t for me, you would have ended up getting married to Choi Seungcheol of all people. I saved your ass. Again.”

Dongho sighs. “Yeah, but… did you really have to stick to me like an octopus? You’re so clingy when you put on that act.”

Minhyun throws his head back in laughter. “I recall you saying I’m _always_ clingy. And we’ve done more than just a side hug, why are you acting like it’s a big deal?” Dongho knows that he’s referring to how they used to sit far too closely to each other to not be called cuddling when they watch a movie or how Minhyun would sometimes rest his head on Dongho’s lap in the privacy of his study whenever he got too tired after a day’s work but why does he have to say it so vaguely like there’s more room for interpretation?

“I’m not acting like it’s a big deal. I just wish you were less clingy -”

“Why? Are you in love with me or something?” Minhyun teases.

Dongho rolls his eyes for what seemed to be the fifth time tonight. “You’re so full of shit, Hwang.”

“Great! Now let’s go to the parlour, there’s way too many people here. I’m thinking ice cream, what about you?”

* * *

Maybe Dongho has been in love with Minhyun ever since they were kids. Born into a world where friendships are only made when there’s an incentive, when there’s a benefit for yourself, Dongho was a little apprehensive when Hwang Group’s Hwang Minhyun suddenly approached him on the first day of school. He had heard of the young master; Minhyun was said to be handsome and smart (as smart as a six year old could be) and most of the kids around him were scared of the boy in case they did anything to offend him. Thinking back, it’s funny how a room full of children were scared of another kid who probably had snot all over his face like a normal six year old would when they cry. But that’s probably why Minhyun came up to him in the first place; Dongho was never scared of him.

“You’re Kang Dongho, right?” Minhyun asked him, his cheeks full, and hair combed to the side neatly. Dongho looked around them to see that everyone else in the room had stopped playing, all the attention was now on them.

“Yes. And you are?” Dongo asked back, though he knew who the boy was. He would be stupid if he didn’t already know the profile of the only son of the most powerful family in Seoul front and back.

But his question made Minhyun’s eyes widen, eyebrows raised in surprise. “You don’t know?”

Dongho shook his head as Minhyun frowned. Audible gasps could be heard, and then a thought hit him. What if this got him in trouble? Did he just get in trouble? Oh, his mother would kill him for insulting the Hwang boy.

But his worries were cut short when Minhyun threw his head back in laughter instead, before he smiled at Dongho. “I’m Hwang Minhyun!” He stretched out a hand for Dongho to shake. “I like you! Let’s be friends.”

Dongho looked up from the hand to the boy’s face. He wasn’t blind, he could see that Minhyun really was good looking, even as a child. Mischievous fox-like eyes, full cheeks and a contagious grin on his face, Dongho felt something fluttering in his chest when he decided to take his hand. And then he thought that he liked the feeling of Minhyun’s hand in his.

  
  


Dongho sighs and looks up from the book he had just been reading. Minhyun is late. Again. They have brunch together at the hotel his family owns twice a week on days where both of their schedules are open. First, it started out as the only way for them to see each other regularly now that they’ve both graduated but it’s not like Dongho was _trying_ to avoid him anyway. He was just busy learning the ropes of the family business, something he’s sure Minhyun has been doing, too — maybe to more of an extent than Dongho has. At least, that’s what he tells himself. And despite all the man’s earlier complaints about never seeing him anymore, he’s fifteen minutes late. Dongho hates how he’s always been the one who waits for the other.

And just as Dongho was going to say fuck it and get up to leave, Minhyun walks through the door, slightly dishevelled and a little red in the face but he still looks just as handsome as ever as he goes over to their table in his designer suit, checking the time on his rolex, his soft hair bouncing ever so slightly with his every stride. Dongho wonders if there’s a wind machine somewhere nearby.

“Sorry I’m late,” Minhyun mutters as he sits down in front of the other.

“Hm, yeah,” is all Dongho says in reply, setting his book aside. “Did you get in trouble with your parents again?”

Minhyun doesn’t say anything so Dongho takes it as a confirmation. It’s probably something stupid and completely avoidable again. The waiter comes over to give them today’s menu and Dongho skims over the choices but he doesn’t get far because from his peripheral view, he can see that Minhyun has been staring at him the whole time, the menu placed in front of him is left untouched.

Dongho sighs but doesn’t lift his eyes from the menu. “Yah. I’m trying to order. Would you quit staring at me?” He thinks he’ll go with the steak. 

“What do you think of us getting married?” Minhyun suddenly blurts out.

Dongho freezes in his seat at the sudden outburst. His initial shock quickly depletes as Dongho wills to compose himself. It’s not the first time he’s heard his best friend say something completely absurd. “Not funny, Minhyun. Isn’t it too early in the day for this?”

“I’m serious.”

Dongho finally looks up and sees how the man in front of him actually does look a little panicked and this sends a warning siren in his head because Minhyun is _never_ panicked. He used to think that the other was a robot or something with how calmly he’s accepted anything life throws at him. Dongho has always been the emotional one out of the two of them.

“Why would you ask something like that?” Dongho asks slowly, drawing the question out because he needs to make sure that he heard right. The fluttering in his stomach has started again, like a swarm of butterflies had just set off inside of him. Did Minhyun notice his feelings? Were their feelings mutual after all? He can’t help but to hope.

“That’s the thing. I really need you to do this for me,” Minhyun says, though the tone of his voice sounds nothing like a man in love — it sounds like the same voice he uses when he’s making a business proposition.

Dongho frowns. “Why does it sound like you’re asking me for a favour?”

“Because it is.” Minhyun shrugs, like this is nothing to him. “My parents have been hounding me lately about getting married. Like, Sujin- _noona_ is already married and is going to inherit most of everything anyway. I don’t get why they keep yelling at _me_ for being single. It’s not my fault no one meets my standards.”

“It is, actually,” Dongho replies, his mouth in a line. He feels so irritated now. “Hwang Minhyun, we may be best friends but how can you expect me to marry you like this out of the blue? As a favour? Are you insane? We don’t even -” he takes a deep breath, “We don’t even love each other!”

Minhyun’s mouth is slightly open in surprise but he soon presses his lips together, expression turning cold. “Kang Dongho, do you really expect people like us to marry out of love? That doesn’t exist in this world. I thought before either of our parents set up an arranged marriage with someone random that we hardly know, it’s better for _us_ to just marry each other instead.”

The corners of Dongho’s mouth fall lower the more Minhyun speaks.

“Besides, we promised, didn’t we?”

That makes his jaw drop in surprise. Yes, they did promise… when they were children. It was one of those stupid childish things twelve year olds would say. A childhood promise that was never really meant to come true.

_“Dongho-yah, if we’re still not married by the time we’re thirty, let’s just marry each other?”_

_Dongho couldn’t help the grin on his face. “Of course!”_

He scoffs. “You’re still holding on to that? Are you a kid?” Dongho crosses his arms. He really hates the way this conversation is going.

“What? It was a good idea. We’re not even thirty yet but I think I was particularly ahead of my time,” Minhyun jokes.

“You’re insane, Hwang Minhyun.”

Minhyun places both of his hands onto the table and whines. “Come on, you _never_ had an ounce of interest for _any_ of your many suitors -” 

“Stop calling them my suitors -”

“- And you know how I don’t really want to date just anyone either -”

“So your solution is _marriage?_ ”

“No, my solution is both of us going with the least annoying option. Or would you like to accidentally accept a marriage proposal from Choi Group’s Choi Seungcheol again?”

Dongho clicks his tongue. “Who told you you’re the least annoying option?”

“So, is that a yes?” Minhyun asks, though his voice is already dripping with confidence, like he knew the man would relent sooner or later.

“It’s a ‘fine’,” Dongho says as he pinches the bridge of his nose with his two fingers.

“Great! Because I already kind of told my parents that we’re planning on getting married.”

Now this catches his attention. He quickly lifts his eyes to see that Minhyun has that stupid shit-eating grin on his face again.

They say a swarm of butterflies setting off in a field always means that a storm is approaching.

Fuck the butterflies in his stomach.

* * *

Dongho doesn’t really have many complaints about being born into what one would perceive as an easy life. Well, it _is_ easy, far easier than the lives of many people his age. Everything he knows has been spoonfed to him ever since he was a child — the best education, the best extracurricular activities, the best hobbies, the best clothes, the best taste in cuisine. He was groomed to be the perfect son of Kang Holdings. And he’s always tried his best to be.

But sometimes there are cracks in the porcelain.

“Yah!” his uncle yells at him, throwing a stack of what looks to be newspapers on the coffee table in front of him. And then Dongho sees the tabloid on top of the pile. “Why do you allow these rumours to persist when you don’t care for the Hwang boy?”

The tabloid on top has a picture of him — well, to be more accurate, it’s a picture of _them_ — from yesterday’s brunch. He picks up the tabloid and stares at the cover photo and the provocative headline that accompanies it. 

**CHAEBOL HEIRS CAUGHT CANOODLING. (Head to page 5 for an inside scoop on the love affair between Hwang Group and Kang Holdings)**

He really _does_ look happy in the photo. Dongho frowns.

“I _do_ care about him,” he mumbles under his breath.

But his uncle has ears like a hawk. And then a piercing voice booms, “Then _do_ something about it! Did I raise my son to be so timid and meek?”

“Uncle,” he starts, hands gripping on the paper tightly, refusing to look his uncle in the eye, “I don’t know if Chairman Hwang contacted you or anything yet but, Minhyun said he wants to marry me.” He fully expects to be yelled at again now — all of this gossip surrounding him and Minhyun and it turns out to be ‘true’. His uncle will kill him.

“So it’s not a lie?”

Dongho nods, bracing himself for another earful.

But instead he hears his uncle chuckling instead. Dongho lifts his head to see a softened expression on his uncle’s face. The creases and the lines of anger are completely diminished now, and instead, there’s a twinkle in his uncle’s eyes. “Finally,” his uncle says, a smile on his face.

Maybe Dongho needs his ears checked. “Pardon?”

“Well, he seems to make you happy. And he’s a talented young man.”

“So, you approve?” Dongho asks. This must be a dream, there’s no way what’s transpiring right now is reality. Maybe he can pinch himself awake.

His uncle nods. “What is there to disapprove?”

Dongho stares at his uncle, mouth agape. “You’re totally fine with this? I thought you’d be angry.”

“I’m a little disappointed that you tried to hide your relationship from us. Though you did a terrible job at it.” He nods his head towards the tabloid in his son’s hands. “But despite everything, both my sister and I expect great things from you. And Hwang Sungmin’s son is a great man, too. It’s a good match.”

And Dongho instantly deflates. _A good match,_ he knows what that means. It’s favourable, beneficial, has a great number of incentives. There’s no such thing as a marriage of love for them. He, just like the many people born into this world, is doomed to a loveless marriage and he has long since accepted it. Minhyun would tell him that his parents’ marriage started out the same way too.

“I expect Hwang Sungmin is going to call me soon to discuss this. In the meantime, we should do our own preparations, shouldn’t we?” his uncle asks.

Dongho nods before leaving his uncle’s office. Right after closing the door behind him, he leans against it and takes a deep breath. He looks to the side only to see the black plaque on the large mahogany door. _CHAIRMAN KANG_ is written across the plaque in gold lettering. Someday, he’ll have to take that position. He can’t disappoint his family.

“Director Kang,” a voice pipes up and Dongho turns to see that it’s his uncle’s secretary, Kwak Aaron. “Is there a problem, sir?”

Dongho shakes his head. “Not at all, secretary Kwak. I’ll be leaving now,” he says with a smile.

He decides to take a half day.

“Where to, sir?” his driver asks him, making eye-contact through the rearview mirror.

“Home,” Dongho answers.

On the ride back, he checks his phone. It’s been buzzing non-stop for the past hour. He skims through the messages, many of them are congratulations for the engagement and he finds himself groaning. Of course people would find out so quickly. Why did he ever think that he could make it to dinner in peace? Receiving “congrats!” and “I was waiting for this to be official” just makes his anxiety spike up. What does Minhyun think? Does Minhyun feel just as stress induced as he does?

No, Minhyun is never stressed. Minhyun has always been calm, collected, perfect. Maybe a little _too_ perfect. If anything, his best friend would revel at how much chaos he's single handedly caused. What a fucker. Why is Dongho so in love with him?

He sighs and leans back into his seat when a ping sounds from his phone. A new message. He checks to see that Jonghyun had sent him a link accompanied with an _“I think you might want to see this, dude…”_

Jonghyun hardly ever calls him ‘dude’. This must be a life-or-death situation. Dongho taps on the link and instantly groans at the title of the article.

**CHAEBOL HEIRS ANNOUNCE ENGAGEMENT**

The article is accompanied by a few paparazzi shots of Minhyun and him going to the movies and dinner and also of that one time Dongho managed to drag his best friend to a club despite how the latter _hates_ clubbing and drinking. Well, he supposes that they’re technically fiancés now.

And then he cringes at the thought. How the press found out about it, he has no idea. It hasn’t even been three hours since he told his own uncle, but then again, he can't be too surprised. When you’re born into a world like theirs, people are always watching, they are always judging. He doesn’t have room to make any mistakes.

He scrolls further down to read the comments, only for his frown to deepen the more he reads.

[+2536, -273] as expected… rich people will only marry rich people

[+907, -168] ㅋㅋㅋ no but isn’t it obvious that these two were in a relationship? aren’t they always in scandals? why did they bother trying to deny ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[+632, -21] to be born with looks and money…

Dongho turns off his phone. He can’t take any more of this, he needs to go back to a place of sanctuary where he can think about all of this without any of his family members or Hwang Minhyun himself prying. Once he steps through the front door though, he hears hushed giggling from the living room. He registers those voices instantly, he’s heard them ever since he was a kid.

_Fuck._

Dongho takes a deep breath and pulls his best ‘guest’ face and stalks into the living room to greet Madam Hwang and her daughter, Hwang Sujin. As soon as he steps through the living room archway, Madam Hwang screeches.

“Ah! Dongho- _yah,_ Minhyunnie told us the great news! We knew it would only be a matter of time.” She grins widely at him.

Dongho returns the smile, albeit a little nervously, and nods. He shifts his focus to his mother who is sitting opposite of Minhyun’s mother. Now, he’s never really been scared of his mother, she has never been that strict with him — that’s his uncle’s job — but he can’t help but be nervous about what she might say because to her, he’s been keeping such a huge secret from her. If she’s upset, she doesn’t let it show, instead she nonchalantly sips her drink before setting the china down onto the coffee table.

“Oh Yeeun, I think we can discuss the rest later,” she says, her voice completely even. “My son seems tired. We can bore him with the festivity ideas on another date.” She gives Minhyun’s mother a polite smile.

“Yes, of course.” Hwang Yeeun raises herself from her seat. “Come, Sujin- _ah_ ,” she beckons her daughter who stands up after her, back completely straight. Perfect posture.

His mother and Minhyun’s mother — should he say… soon to be mother…? — give each other a kiss on the cheek and a small hug before the guests make their way to the front door. Right when they pass Dongho, Sujin whispers, “I knew it.” And winks before finally leaving.

Dongho doesn’t really know what to say to that.

Once he hears the front door click, Dongho knows that he’s in for something else. He cautiously makes his way to the sofa and sits down in front of his mother. She’s sipping her tea again so Dongho waits, and waits, and waits, until he finally hears the clattering of the empty china being set aside.

“Dongho- _yah,_ ” his mother starts. He braces himself, he’s in for it now. “I’m so happy for you!” she exclaims and Dongho stares at her, not expecting this outcome, yet again.

“Pardon?” he asks.

“I was just _waiting_ for news between you and Minhyunnie. Ah, this is so exciting!” She’s almost jumping for joy in her seat. He has never seen her this excited in his entire life and it kind of makes him feel a little guilty. She claps her hands before saying in rapid fire, “I honestly can’t believe you tried to hide it from me, but I also knew that something was going on between the two of you. It was only a matter of time. Ah! There’s just so much to do, so much to plan. Both of our families are so excited for this, you know? Minhyunnie told his mother that he hasn’t even bought the engagement rings yet so we definitely need to get them before the engagement party in two weeks -”

This gets Dongho's attention. “Mother, what engagement party?”

“- And then there’s the venue, and the catering, and the guest list… By the way Dongho, have you guys decided on a wedding date yet? I think a spring wedding would be wonderful. We can even have the theme be a garden party! Oh, that means I would have to call that wedding planner Madam Hwang was telling me about, Choi Minki- _ssi_ , was it? Anyway, I’ll get his number from her later -”

“Mother,” Dongho says again, this time a little louder. “Engagement party? In two weeks?”

His mother blinks at him. “Well, of course! I only want the best for my son.”

And now he knows that he’s doomed. He nods curtly and says, “I’m a little tired now. May I be excused?”

She smiles at him. “Of course, sweetie.”

And he gets up from his seat, making his way to his room. He plops onto his bed, face down, sinking into the soft sheets of his king-sized bed. He wants to scream if he’s being honest. What exactly did he manage to get himself into? And the worst part of all of this is the fact that his heart won’t stop beating wildly in his chest. He can’t seem to will it to stop trying to jump out of its cage. He's never felt happier in his entire life.

He’s utterly _fucked._

* * *

Dongho doesn’t understand why his mother was so worried about the guest list when she decided to invite everyone anyway. And when he says ‘everyone’, he means _everyone._ Some of the guests are acquaintances, some are family that he hasn’t seen ever since he was a toddler, some so distant he’s sure that the only reason why they’re invited is because they’re also from Jeju. Minhyun’s Busan family is also here of course and as per usual, they had to memorise everyone’s faces and backgrounds before the celebration so as to not embarrass their now-fiancé.

Dongho honestly can’t believe this was all stemmed from Minhyun’s insane idea over _brunch._

They’re supposed to be playing the part of two people in love which they’ve done multiple times when they were faced with unwanted advances but something about it is different tonight. Maybe it’s the fact that they're actually engaged now, with rings to prove it. Maybe it’s the fact that Dongho has been dreaming about this day ever since he was five years old whether he wanted to or not. Or maybe, it’s the way Minhyun hasn’t let go of his hand from the moment they stepped into the venue. Their fingers are locked together, elbows always brushing against the other. They’ve held hands many times before but why is he suddenly getting self-conscious about it? This is how they’ve always held hands. Minhyun holds his hand like Dongho is something he wants to treasure, he’s cradling his fingers like he’s delicate. The other’s thumb keeps rubbing his hand gently, absentmindedly, naturally. And Dongho, like an idiot, can only pretend that his face is heating up because of the five glasses of wine he's downed thus far.

He grabs another from a passing waiter only for Minhyun to take it from his hand. Dongho frowns at his grip on air before turning to the other. “Yah,” he says. “Give that back.”

Minhyun quirks an eyebrow, before leaning down to whisper in his ear. “You’ve drank enough tonight, babe.” Dongho feels a chill run down his spine. _Babe? Is this ironically or unironically?_ “We’re supposed to be dealing with the guests. How are we supposed to deal with them if you end up blackout drunk?”

“I have _never_ passed out from being drunk before. _You_ have,” Dongho challenges, “after, what? A sip?” He laughs.

The other purses his lips. “It was two.”

And Dongho almost bursts out in laughter if he didn’t quickly cover his own mouth. His whole body shakes, the laugh wells up from deep inside him. God, Minhyun is really the only one who can ease up his anxiety like this. He reaches up and pinches his fiancé’s cheek, hard. “You’re such a baby. How did I ever agree to marry you?”

“Well, we _were_ about to eat,” Minhyun answers, rubbing a hand over where Dongho pinched him.

Dongho chuckles. “Did you decide to ask me during brunch because you thought eating would get me in a good mood?”

Minhyun smiles at him, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You were very amenable.”

“Hm. You’re an ass.”

“You love me anyway, babe.”

Dongho freezes but quickly relaxes his body, hoping that Minhyun doesn’t catch on. He can’t afford to be found out now. What if Minhyun finds out there are actual feelings here? Surely, he would be against the marriage. Minhyun’s an asshole but he’s not a complete asshole, he knows to not play with Dongho’s feelings. If he found out, well, he’d probably ask for a divorce.

He’s still thinking about a supposed divorce when someone calls out to them.

“There you are!” Dongho looks up to see that it’s Jonghyun. “Disgusting as ever, I see?”

They’ve known Jonghyun for about as long as they’ve known each other. Dongho is pretty sure that all of them have felt like a third wheel at some point of their friendship, they all know each other like the back of their hand. Which is probably why Dongho can’t really bring himself to lie to him. Dongho immediately lets go of Minhyun’s hand, completely missing the way the other frowns at the loss of contact.

“Sorry I’m late,” Jonghyun continues. “I had trouble finding the venue.”

Thanks to Dongho’s mother for wanting to host the party at someplace “scenic”, which is code for “middle of fucking nowhere”.

“It’s okay,” Minhyun replies. “The only thing you missed is this one panicking over meeting my relatives.”

“Yah!” Dongho tugs at Minhyun’s sleeve. And then through gritted teeth, he says, “can you not try to embarrass me?”

“You already do that yourself. You don’t need my help, babe.”

“My god, stop calling me that.”

“Would you rather I call you ‘honey’? How about ‘darling’? Which reminds me, we haven’t decided on petnames yet,” Minhyun says, tapping a finger on his chin in faux deep thought.

“Do you live to humiliate me?”

“The implications that I live for you… I didn’t know you were such a romantic…”

Dongho knows that he’s turning red at this. Stupid Hwang Minhyun. “Can you… shut the fuck up?”

“You’re so demanding, love.”

“I’m still here, by the way,” Jonghyun pipes up which, thankfully, pulls Dongho out of his meltdown over being called _love._ Jonghyun has his arms crossed as he watches his two best friends' entire exchange. “God, I thought you two getting married would mean less bickering but it just looks like it’s amped up to eleven now. Though, I admit I was a little disappointed to be out of the loop. Like, I’m your best friend, shouldn’t I know about this first? Before I read it from some tabloid?”

If Dongho didn’t feel guilty before, he definitely does now. He’s about to apologise when Minhyun beats him to it.

“Sorry for not telling you,” Minhyun says. “It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. And by the time we told our parents, it seemed like everyone else already found out.”

Jonghyun tightens his lips. “You guys need better security,” he says, before he breaks into a smile.

A wave of relief washes over Dongho. At least Jonghyun’s not _actually_ mad. He can keep some of his sanity in check now.

“I mean, I wasn’t even completely surprised over it, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Dongho asks.

“Well, you guys are inseparable. I always thought that even if you get married to other people, you’d still find a way to live in the same house.” Jonghyun laughs. “Besides, hasn’t it always been ‘Dongho and Minhyun, in parenthesis ‘and Jonghyun’ close parenthesis’?” he asks, sweeps his hand out in front of him as he does it.

“That’s not true!”

“Well, if it wasn’t true before, it definitely is now with how you two are actually getting married.” He waves his eyebrows at them, grinning. “I still can’t get over the fact that you two tried to hide your relationship from me, even though you get caught by the paps every other week. Wait, who was it who proposed?”

“I did,” Minhyun replies.

“Ah, as expected.” _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_ “How did you ask?”

“He asked me over brunch,” Dongho says flatly.

Jonghyun nods. “How on brand.” He checks his watch and sighs. “Anyway, I gotta bounce, I told my sister I’d keep her company tonight. I think I left her alone for a little too long. Congratulations guys. I mean it,” he says before he turns around and walks away.

Dongho sighs. That went a lot better than he expected it to. It’s not like he was holding out for Jonghyun to yell at them but the other’s disappointment would actually break his heart. But then again, every person he’s told thus far hasn’t gotten angry with him at all. The overall positivity is honestly getting to his head. Why did everyone seem to expect this to happen? Was his crush on Minhyun that obvious? The freakiest part was his mother and uncle’s enthusiasm in their sham of a marriage. It’s so unsettling. Maybe he’s just overthinking everything? Maybe everyone is just weird these past couple of weeks? Or maybe — and this is a big maybe — Minhyun might actually feel the same way towards -

“Dongho _-yah,_ ” Minhyun whispers, snapping him out of his reverie.

“Hm?”

“My dad’s calling me.” His fiancé points to the phone that he’s been holding up. “I’ll be back, alright?”

It’s strange how Minhyun is acting like he’s scared that Dongho might think that he’s abandoning him or that he won’t understand important calls. He rolls his eyes and just says, “sure.”

“Thanks.” Minhyun smiles at him. He’s about to turn to walk away but not before grabbing Dongho’s hand again, bringing it towards his lips and planting a kiss on his knuckles. He hates when Minhyun does this. Because he knows that he’s red like a sinner in church now. “I’ll see you soon,” he says with an attempted wink.

Only when he leaves can Dongho finally breathe. He’s convinced now that Hwang Minhyun is not only an asshole but is also an idiot _and_ a jerk.

Dongho is still reeling from what Minhyun did when someone taps on his shoulder. He turns around only to see a face that he _has_ been secretly avoiding all night: Choi Seungcheol. It’s not that he hates Seungcheol or anything, it’s just awkward to see another guy who inadvertently proposed to you the week before you actually get engaged to your childhood friend over a meal. Because that is completely normal.

“You made it!” Dongho says, trying to give his most polite smile but he suspects it comes off as forced.

If Seungcheol notices, he doesn’t pay any mind to it because he chuckles, as genuine as ever. “Well, I wouldn’t want to miss the engagement of a guy I tried to woo.” And he winces. “Yikes. Sorry, was that too soon?” Dongho nods, completely unsure of where this conversation is going. “Congratulations by the way. Hwang Minhyun is a pretty good match.”

There’s that phrase again. A good match. Dongho has heard that phrase so much over the past two weeks that he’s surprised his ears haven’t fallen off yet.

“Thanks,” is all he replies with.

Now, Seungcheol must have detected his bubbling anger because now he looks a little apologetic. “Can I,” he pauses, “can I talk to you? In private?”

“Why would you need to talk to me in private? Surely, what you have to say, you can say in front of our peers?”

Seungcheol laughs, albeit a little nervously. “No, I don’t think I can. Besides, it’s not like I’m stealing you away from anyone right now, am I?”

Well, he’s right. It’s not like Dongho is busy at the moment but he wishes Seungcheol would take the hint. He probably needs to let whatever it is in his system out, so Dongho nods and follows the other outside.

It’s a little chilly tonight, they probably should have grabbed their coats before walking out to the veranda. God, he suddenly misses Minhyun. The other would have reminded him of how cold tonight would be and would have probably brought along a pair of gloves too, something Dongho belatedly realises he needs as he puffs his breath into his cupped hands over his mouth. He rubs his hands together and repeats the earlier motions again and again until his body gets used to the temperature.

It’s beautiful out here. It looks like a scene Minhyun would take photos of, just like how he does whenever they stumble on a place that is just a little more photogenic than their average settings. Dongho’s mind wanders off to that vacation to Spain they once went on together during college. Somehow, that memory seems so far away now.

He wants to hurry back inside where Minhyun is probably waiting for him.

“So,” Seungcheol says, leaning onto the railings on the veranda, looking out to the patch of grass in front of them, “Minhyun, huh?”

Dongho frowns. “Yeah. What about it?”

“Is it for real?”

That catches him off guard. “Of course it is,” Dongho replies.

“Hm.” And then the man turns around and faces him. “I don’t buy it.”

“You don’t buy it?”

“I mean, you were flirting with me just fine and suddenly, you apparently have a boyfriend… and then a week later, you have a fiancé. Sorry, but I don’t buy it.”

Dongho sucks in a deep breath. “What I feel for Minhyun and our relationship is literally none of your business.” He pauses before adding, “and I never flirted with you by the way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my fiancé is waiting for me.”

But before he can leave, a hand grabs his shoulder and spins him around. The grip on him is tight and if it weren’t for the fact that they’re in public and are currently at his own engagement party, he would have punched Seungcheol in the face by now. Seungcheol stares at him, eyes searching his face for any hesitation and it makes him sick to be regarded like this. Dongho forcibly takes the other’s hand off himself.

“You’re being rude, Choi Seungcheol- _ssi._ I have the decency to look over this. But if you lay another hand on me, I don’t have a problem giving the tabloids more material.”

“What’s going on out here?” a familiar voice asks. Dongho whips around and immediately feels relief at the sight of Minhyun’s face.

“Nothing,” Dongho replies. But he doesn’t miss the way Minhyun’s eyes are trained on their proximity or the way Dongho still has his hand warmed around Seuncheol's wrist. Suddenly, Dongho feels a little nervous, and it doesn’t subside anytime soon because now there’s a spark in Minhyun’s eyes — a spark that doesn’t fizzle out like it usually does. No, this is a spark of anger that seems to grow wilder the more he looks at them.

“Dongho- _yah,_ ” Minhyun says, voice even but the glare doesn’t lessen one bit. “Your mother wants to talk to us.”

“Okay,” he squeaks in reply.

Minhyun quickly grabs his hand and leads him back inside.

“Your hands are ice cold,” Minhyun mutters.

They walk past his mother and the rest of their family members through the venue, going deeper and deeper into the building. Dongho knows that it was a bluff earlier but he’s never seen Minhyun so on edge before. This isn’t the calm and collected Minhyun he knows — this is the Minhyun that the man rarely allows to be seen through the cracks. It kind of makes Dongho relieved that at the end of the day, the man is still a man but now he’s starting to get a little worried. His fiancé’s ears are pink, and Dongho isn’t sure if it’s due to the cold from outside, but his hands are hot, so warm that Dongho wonders if the sun is secretly inside of him. Only when they’re behind the closed doors of a guest room does Minhyun finally let go of his hand. He whips around and stares Dongho dead in the eye, expression akin to defeat and Dongho doesn’t understand _why_ he suddenly seems so weary.

“Minhyun _-ah_ ,” Dongho whispers. “Are you okay?”

Minhyun laughs, void of any warmth. “Am _I_ okay? You’re asking me that after I found you freezing outside with someone else? Are _you_ okay? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

“No, he didn’t. And even if he tried to, I can take care of myself. I’m not a little kid anymore, Minhyun- _ah_ , and neither are you.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Dongho takes a deep breath before continuing. “It means that I think it’s unfair to the people around us that we’re marrying each other on a whim. It seems like a sham. People are convinced that we love each other and we both know it’s not true.”

Minhyun stares at him with wide eyes, seemingly horrified at Dongho’s words. “S-so are you saying that,” he evens out his breath, “t-that you don’t want to go through with this?” 

Dongho shakes his head. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. I just- I just feel like we should be upfront about this, shouldn’t we? Pretending like we’re in love is taking a toll on me.”

The other is quiet for a few beats and then he says something that really throws Dongho off. “Maybe we just need to practice?”

“P-practice?” Dongho stutters.

“Yeah. We’ll get better at it if we practice. You can think of it as exercise. You like that, don’t you?” Minhyun steps closer to him, his hands resting on Dongho's shoulders. The closeness of their bodies makes him want to pass out but he can’t shake away the gaze Minhyun is looking at him with.

“Are you drunk?” Dongho asks, tilting his head.

And Minhyun chuckles. Somehow one of his hands finds its way to Dongho’s neck and the other ends up on Dongho’s cheek. “I might be. I had more than a couple of sips just now.”

Dongho looks up to see that the man is staring at him in a way that would make anyone melt, but he’s at a loss as to why Minhyun is looking at _him_ like that. He must really be drunk.

“Minhyun- _ah_ -”

But before he can finish, Minhyun crashes his lips against him. It’s weird. Dongho has imagined kissing Minhyun before but it never turned out like this; it’s hungry and a little desperate, the kind of kiss that has tongues dancing and teeth clanking. It’s desperate and a strange sensation. Heat is pooling at the base of his stomach and his heart is thundering wildly. He almost wants to pull away so that Minhyun wouldn’t find out but the other’s grip on his neck tightens, only to pull him closer, bodies flush against each other. It feels good to be kissed with this kind of fervour but Dongho also wonders why he's being kissed like it’s the last time they’ll ever kiss. And that makes an ache start to envelope his chest. Suddenly, he kind of hates this. No, he hates this because he has to remind himself that this isn’t real. None of it is.

He pushes Minhyun away, gasping for breath, only to see the other looking just about a mess as Dongho feels. His hair is tousled, eyes dazed, lips a little bruised and fuck, Dongho really does hate this.

“How could you do that?” Dongho asks him, his voice coming out a little cracked and belatedly, he realises that there are tears in his eyes.

Minhyun stares at him. There’s something in his eyes that Dongho can’t quite make out. Is it shock? Is it sadness? Is it regret? 

“I’m sorry,” Minhyun whispers. And Dongho’s heart drops.

He was right. Minhyun was just doing what he normally does and went with the flow, and Dongho entertained just that. Now he feels like throwing up.

“I have to go,” Dongho says curtly, but he doesn’t get far because a hand grips on his own.

“Wait,” Minhyun says, voice low, as if afraid of anyone other than Dongho hearing these words he’s about to say right now. And then, in a voice so crushed he says, “please don’t go.”

“Minhyun, I -”

But he can’t finish the words because Minhyun starts to wobble where he stands and his knees give way. He falls to the ground with a thud and he grunts in pain. Dongho rushes to his side.

“Minhyun- _ah!_ ” Dongho shakes his body but the other doesn’t respond. He stays completely quiet until Dongho hears him let out a snore.

Stupid Hwang Minhyun.

* * *

It’s not that he’s been avoiding Minhyun or anything, it’s just that he’d rather not see him after the disaster of what their engagement party was. The party itself wasn’t a disaster, truthfully, it was a big hit. It’s them who Dongho realises have been disasters from the very moment Minhyun suggested they wed. He hates himself for giving in too easily and agreeing despite knowing what it is that he feels in his heart and what he knows that Minhyun can never reciprocate. He’s such a loser.

He’s being summoned by his uncle again and he stands outside of the patriarch’s office, taking deep breaths, trying to calm down like he usually does every time he’s called for at the company. Dongho reaches out a hand to the doorknob when a voice behind him pipes up.

“Director Kang!” Secretary Kwak says, Dongho jumps a little at the volume. “I forgot to congratulate you on your engagement last weekend at the party. So, congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Dongho replies, mustering a smile before he finally opens the door and heads into the office.

His uncle sits at the couch going over newspapers again. At first glance, the scene is completely normal if it weren’t for the creases that start to form on the man’s forehead the more he skims over the headlines.

“You called for me, uncle?”

“I thought you said you would stop playing around. I thought you said you were serious,” his uncle says, trying to keep his voice as even and low as possible.

“Uncle?” He really doesn’t understand why his uncle is upset this time.

And then his uncle hands Dongho one of the papers and he swears his eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

**KANG HOLDING’S HEIR SEEN KISSING A MYSTERY MAN ON THE NIGHT OF HIS ENGAGEMENT PARTY (Trouble in paradise already?)** ****

Below it, is a picture of him and Seungcheol from that night. From the angle, it really did look like the two were doing more than talking in a heated argument. His grip on the tabloid tightens. He is so tired of this.

“This isn’t true,” he says through gritted teeth.

“Are you sure? Because it looks like the truth to the eyes of the reader -”

“THIS ISN’T TRUE!” Dongho yells. “How could I? How is that even logical? I- I’m incapable of loving anyone else but Minhyun. I -” He gasps. “It just isn’t true. I would never do that to him.”

He looks up only to see that his uncle is staring at him, mouth in a straight line. Too late, Dongho realises that he had just raised his voice at his uncle in the man’s own office at the company. He’s really done for now.

“It isn’t true,” he repeats. He feels helpless now. Surely, no one actually believes this, right?

“Then tell him that,” his uncle whispers.

Panic seeps into Dongho’s skin coffee that’s spilled onto the carpet. He can feel it tainting himself from deep within, it’s making it hard for him to breathe when he realises the implications of his uncle’s words.

“Has he already seen it?” Dongho asks, his voice shaking.

His uncle only looks at him sympathetically and shrugs. “It was all over the internet this morning. You should go see him. I’ll let you take the rest of the day off.”

And with that, Dongho rushes out the door. He knows it’s stupid but he checks the articles online too, only to groan at what he sees. The titles aren’t that bad but it's the comments that start to get to him.

[+562, -321] wow, the rich and beautiful are still so dirty on the inside

[+214, -67] f*ck. is this f*cker so stupid to cheat on his fiancé so publically?????

[+32, -9] but isn’t this photo weak as evidence? you guys shouldn’t believe things so quickly~

Somehow in his panic, he ends up in the front seat of his car, deciding to ditch the driver for today. He calls Minhyun up but the man doesn’t answer and now he starts to panic because Minhyun _always_ answers his calls, whether it be on the first beep or the last, he always tries to answer no matter how busy he is. Minhyun always makes time for him. Fuck. Maybe Dongho has been an idiot this entire time.

He heads straight to Hwang Group’s headquarters where he knows Minhyun should be at two PM on a Wednesday. He walks straight through the front door, people on the floor already recognising his face, whispering while he’s still in the vicinity. Dongho just wants to see Minhyun as soon as he can.

Dongho doesn’t normally do this — he doesn’t normally barge into the workplace of the man he’s known for twenty years on short notice because even he knows that much, he’s not normally panicked as he stands in front of said man’s office either. How has he known Minhyun for so long and still manages to feel things like this?

He stares at the plaque on the door. _DIRECTOR HWANG_ is etched clearly in gold lettering on the black plaque. Dongho should probably knock, so he does.

“Come in,” says the voice from inside and Dongho does just that.

Minhyun looks up from what he had been reading — which Dongho can now see is the same tabloid his uncle handed to him half an hour ago (fuck) — and his eyes widen when he realises who it is that came to pay a visit.

“What are you doing here?” Minhyun asks, taking off his reading glasses and setting them on the coffee table in front of him.

“You didn’t answer my calls,” Dongho answers lamely.

“Oh.”

An uncomfortable silence passes over them, one unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. This silence is thick and almost nauseating. Dongho hates how they’re looking at each other like strangers. They’re never like this. They aren’t _supposed_ to be like this.

“I think I should explain -”

“Did you really kiss him?” Minhyun cuts him off, eyes still trained on the front cover of the tabloid.

“No!” Dongho answers, a little too quickly and he winces at himself. Though, he _is_ starting to get a little annoyed now with the way Minhyun is acting. If Minhyun knew, why did he never come to ask _him_ about it? “I would _never_ do that. Do you honestly believe a stupid tabloid more than you believe me?”

“Let’s cut the bullshit, Dongho.”

Minhyun sets the tabloid down and leans back on his chair. For some reason, Dongho feels like he did something wrong, despite being a victim in all of this too.

“Listen,” Minhyun starts, his voice is even, almost like he feels nothing at all or at least, he’s trying to, “I believe you. I do. But I also know that I dragged you into this marriage and that you don’t love me — that’s fine. It’s totally fine. I never expected you to feel something for me and I don’t mind if you want to have other lovers or anything like that because everyone knows this is a marriage of convenience… but on paper, and in public, you’re going to be my husband. And I just -” he pauses, shutting his eyes before continuing, “I just want you to be more careful. People are going to talk about this and I don’t want to see you getting hurt in the fallout.” Minhyun opens his eyes and directs his gaze to his fiancé.

Dongho stares back at him, unsure of what to say. All of Minhyun’s words are floating in his head, bouncing off the corners of his mind.

_You don’t love me. Other lovers. Marriage of convenience. You don’t love me. Be more careful. People are going to talk. You don’t love me. I don’t want to see you getting hurt. You don’t love me._

_You don’t love me._

One emotion can sum up all his feelings thus far: anger.

“Hwang Minhyun, you don’t understand anything!” Dongho yells. Minhyun stares at him, eyes wide in shock at his sudden outburst. “Did you really think I agreed to marry you out of convenience? Are you that stupid? For someone who claims to know me best, you’re the densest motherfucker to walk this earth.”

“Yah, what are you saying right now -”

“Fine! Let’s cut _all_ the bullshit, Minhyun. Did you really think I was gonna be like ‘maybe a marriage with my dumbass of a friend would be a good thing to add to my C.V.’?” he huffs. “If it was me choosing rationally, I would have never agreed to this! But I’m not choosing rationally! Despite everything I’ve learned ever since I was graciously pulled out of my mother’s womb, I’m doing this against my better judgement — I’m following my own feelings instead. And I hate that you’re questioning what _I_ feel.”

Minhyun stares at him, mouth agape but his eyes are gentle. “Dongho- _yah,_ what is that supposed to mean?” he asks quietly, unsure.

Dongho ends up laughing bitterly at the stupid question. “It means that I’ve been in love with you this entire time, you asshole!”

The room falls silent and Dongho realises what he had just said. He really blew it this time and Minhyun is staring at him, face unreadable. He really wants to dig himself a hole and die now. He can’t believe he said all that. 

He’s still kicking himself in the head when Minhyun finally speaks up. “So… this is real?”

Dongho stares back at him and the only thing he can say is the truth.

“It’s always been real for me.”

“It has been for me, too.” Minhyun bites his lower lip and looks up at him sheepishly. This is the first time in the twenty years of their friendship that he’s seen such an expression on Minhyun’s face. Dongho doesn’t really know how to feel about it.

He furrows his eyebrows. “You like me?”

“No, stupid. I _love_ you.”

Minhyun has to be lying. It _has_ to be another one of his stupid jokes.

“I’m not lying,” Minhyun says, chuckling as he does it. Dongho must have voiced his thoughts out loud.

Minhyun gets up from his seat and strides over to Dongho. It somehow feels like it’s all happening in slow motion — the way he stops right when he's a few inches shy from him, the way he lifts his hand and reaches out to cup Dongho’s cheek, the way his face is flushed, ears dusted pink too, as he stares at Dongho like this is the first time he’s ever taken a look at his childhood best friend. It makes Dongho feel embarrassed, if he’s being honest. Never has Minhyun ever looked at him like he's the only other person in existence.

“Can I kiss you?” Minhyun asks. “This time, I’m sober. I promise.”

Despite himself, Dongho laughs. “Yes, you can.”

And Minhyun leans in and presses their lips together in a chaste kiss, different from the hunger and sloppy drunkenness from before. He kisses him soft and sweet, slow and searching, like they have all the time in the world. They know each other inside out and yet, they’re still discovering what it means to love like this. A love that’s different from what they’re used to, but the same all at once. And as Minhyun pulls him closer, Dongho realises that there’s no need to be confused. There’s no need for them to rush when this is the only love they have ever known.

Once they break apart, faces a little flushed, Minhyun whispers, “I feel like I should ask you properly this time, so you know that I mean every word.”

Dongho stares at him without saying anything, prompting him to continue.

“Kang Dongho, I love you so much and I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with someone who _isn’t_ you. Will you marry me?” he nervously asks.

Dongho doesn’t understand why Minhyun is suddenly hesitant because his answer is obvious.

“Well, we kind of booked the catering already.”

Minhyun laughs again and the sound rings in his ears. Dongho grabs the man by the collar and pulls him down for another kiss.

_That’s right,_ Dongho smiles against his fiancé's lips. _They have all the time in the world._

“Yes,” he whispers.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this was so incoherent dkjfkgfdj i wrote this fic over the course of a couple of months and i had to stop in the middle of it because of my finals which only just recently ended so there are some parts that i definitely rushed. 
> 
> also sorry @ seungcheol, i know you are a sweetheart
> 
> the inspiration for this fic was basically what if these two best friends have been in love for their whole lives and there are virtually no obstacles stopping them from being together besides their own stupidity. it was fun lmao
> 
> thank you to my beta reader who was also helping me brainstorm ideas when i got stuck on a particular scene.  
> thank you nufics for hosting!


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